INFORMATION SURFACING WITH VISUAL CUES INDICATIVE OF RELEVANCE

摘要

A user interface through which information is proactively provided utilizes visual cues indicative of the relevance of the information that is being proactively provided. Such visual cues include sizing, color, intensity, movement, and other like visual attributes. A single discrete visual element proactively presents information to the user. The user is provided with the opportunity to define discrete events, whereby information associated with such events is presented through other discrete elements. The physical orientation of such discrete elements indicates relationships between elements. Ranking functionality identifies more immediately relevant information and the rankings of related elements are increased based upon other, contextual information with which such information is associated, and on which the importance of such information is based. Information is surfaced to provide a vector through which the user responds or utilizes such surfaced information independently of specific application programs having discrete informational focus.

主权项

1. A method for notifying a user via a graphical user interface that is physically generated on a hardware display device by a computing device, the method comprising the steps of:
obtaining a first notification and a first relevance associated with the first notification; generating, as part of the graphical user interface, a first discrete visual element comprising the first notification, the first discrete visual element having a first size, a first shape, a first color intensity and a first transparency, wherein at least one of: the first size, the first shape, the first color intensity and the first transparency are selected based on the first relevance; subsequently obtaining a second relevance associated with the first notification, the second relevance representing a change from the first relevance; and regenerating, as part of the graphical user interface, the first discrete visual element by modifying at least one of: the first size, the first shape, the first color intensity and the first transparency in accordance with the second relevance.